"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate."

"Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions."

"If you are near the enemy, make him believe you are far from him. If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near."

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

"Appraise war in terms of the fundamental factors. The first of these factors is moral influence."

"All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him."

"How exquisite that gaze of yours would be if you were being whipped to death, in the last agony."

"Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it."

"We should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe."

"Publishers are just middlemen. That's all. If artists could remember that more often, they'd save themselves a lot of aggrevation."

"Nothing is too small to know, and nothing is too big to attempt."

"Somebody who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world"